COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Columbus Police Department (CPD) arrested an alleged violent sex offender for felony charges on Tuesday, after his release earlier this month.
Michael O. Kent, 36, of Columbus, was released from the Bartholomew County Jail on June 2, after being incarcerated on charges of illegal sex offender residency violations and unlawful entry by a serious sex offender from October 2022.
Before his 2022 jailing, CPD received multiple complaints of Kent acting suspiciously and approaching women. After his recent release, law enforcement received a similar complaint.
CPD’s Intelligence Unit conducted covert surveillance of Kent and learned that he had been residing in the 800 block of 4th Street, within 1000 feet of a school. He failed to report his residency to the sex offender coordinator.
Officers arrested the suspect and preliminarily charged him with failure to register as a serious violent predator and illegal sex offender residency violations, both level 6 felonies. Kent remains in the Bartholomew County Jail.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
